


3:33 | iwaoi

by berryogurts



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Betrayal, Childhood Friends, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Post-Time Skip, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-20
Updated: 2021-03-26
Packaged: 2021-03-28 23:27:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30147228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/berryogurts/pseuds/berryogurts
Summary: "I know you'll never love me half as much as I love you."And even though it hurts, he starts to accept it. Maybe Oikawa being out of his reach, all the way in Argentina, will give him the closure he thinks he needs.But then two years later, Oikawa shows up to say his piece, and the universe seems to have different plans for them this time.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Oikawa Tooru, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Comments: 9
Kudos: 24





	1. why'd you only call me when you're high?

**Author's Note:**

> hello!! i'm superrr excited to be uploading this!!  
> i hope you enjoy reading it as much as i enjoy writing it <3 feedback, kudos and comments are appreciated!!
> 
> before going into this, please know that drug usage is mentioned and implied in this chapter. nothing too heavy, but if it bothers you, please be cautious!! 
> 
> anddd yeah, thats about it :] have funnnn <3
> 
> (twitter: @mintsukki  
> curious cat: https://curiouscat.qa/mintsukki)

Iwaizumi Hajime, 23, doesn’t know where the fuck he’s going in life. 

The question is: does he _want_ to think about it now? Truthfully, he’d rather not, but is his brain going to let him avoid it? No way. 

On one hand, he’s glad he got fired and doesn’t have to deal with shitty treatments and a less-than-satisfying paycheck, but on the other hand, that exact paycheck was what helped him split rent with his roommates. 

The same exact roommates who dragged him out of his room for the night to lighten up the mood. And while they insisted that they’ll handle it until he finds another job, he couldn’t help but feel guilty. How does he manage to mess everything up? 

Somewhere in the suburbs, Iwaizumi lets his head rest against the wall of some Karasuno graduate’s bedroom. He couldn’t quite catch his name - Tanaka, maybe? Something like that. He’ll figure it out later. Right now, his fuzzy mind can’t seem to focus on just one thing, eyes slowly scanning his surroundings in hopes to maintain the bit of consciousness he’s clinging to. He doesn’t exactly recall how much he’s had, but he’d be lying if he said he couldn’t feel light tingles all over.

While his eyesight is still - mostly - in check, he takes note of a few things, mainly to try to ground himself. The wall opposing him is littered with pictures of half-naked beach bombshells, with a couple of blurry polaroids messily taped on and scattered. Makki’s on the bed, trying to catch some sleep, and every once in a while, shoots up to complain about the pillow feeling so far away. To his right sit Sugawara and Nishinoya, who seem to be in hysterics over the switched off TV in the corner. Tanaka, Kyotani and Saeko are sitting at the table in the center of the room, on their second round of Uno, and they probably have no idea who’s in the lead.

An odd bunch, truly. Iwaizumi has no idea how the fuck he got Kyotani and Kindaichi to drag him here, but he could use the relief after the shit day he’s had. 

Speaking of...

“I _blocked_ your turn, you fucking idiot!” Kyotani suddenly erupts, pinpointing the green card he just placed on their pile. The other boys stop laughing momentarily, only to look at each other and where the commotion is coming from, then send themselves cackling afterwards. 

It takes Tanaka a few moments to realize that he’s being cussed out, and it’s not long before they’re up in arms, yelling nonsense at each other. It even draws Kunimi’s attention, who’s in the corner with Kenma, and Iwaizumi chuckles lightly at the sight. 

“Who the fuck are you to talk? You and your buzzcut…” 

It’s clear that Tanaka can’t find anything comprehensible to fire back with, taking a drag from the blunt in his free hand.

“You’ve got the same buzzcut, dumbass,” Saeko retorts matter-of-factly. She seems to be the only one who’s not completely gone yet, having little to no trouble finding her words. Once again, this sends Nishinoya and Sugawara into a wheezing fit, doubling over in laughter.

Honestly, they seem to be the only ones having fun. 

Being the youngest, it’s Kunimi’s first time joining his older friends in one of their weekly ‘circles’, and he’s completely out of it. Matsukawa looks over to make sure he’s okay, and sure enough, he’s immersed in whatever game they’re playing on Kenma’s Nintendo Switch, eyes reddening but full of wonder, with their faces reflecting bright light coming from the screen. This is the first time any of them have ever seen such an expression take over Kunimi’s face - if any, at all. 

At this point, the room’s hazy with smoke, and everyone’s nearly out of it. Testing his tolerance, Iwaizumi accepts the joint offered to him by Nishinoya and relishes in the feeling of it. He’s always loved how the heat spreads through his chest, blossoming all throughout his body. Little by little, he feels himself getting higher. 

But even when he’s fucking high, his brain seems to pester him about getting fired earlier. He’d like to take a break from reality for once.

Somehow, Kindaichi makes his way back from the bathroom, absolute horror taking over his face as he wipes his mouth. Almost everyone checks in to make sure he’s doing okay, and Saeko tosses him a water bottle for him to down. 

“Why do you insist on doing this every time?” Matsukawa sighs from where he lays his head on Iwaizumi’s shoulder. In any other situation, he probably would’ve shoved him off and yelled, but in their current situation, his limbs resemble paperweights by him, with his words heavy on his tongue. Nevertheless, he’s itching to have him sit upright. 

“I thought I’d be fine this time…” Kindaichi sits down next to Suga and shoots him a puzzled look, asking, “Suga-san, how high are you, exactly?” 

Which seems to make the grey-haired boy giggle, his eyes bloodshot and glossy from all the smoke. That pretty much tells him everything he needs to know. 

Saeko rolls her eyes and scoffs, shaking her head. Tanaka glances over at Makki’s corpse-like figure on the bed and taps his leg twice. Receiving no response, panic washes over him for a minute. 

“Who invited him again? I don’t think any of us can drive anywhere right now,” he vocalizes his thoughts while pointing to Makki. 

“Iwaizumi-san looks okay...and he’s got a car, you know, just in case.” Kunimi giggles at his own - poor - attempt of getting his words out in a manner that makes sense, and it has Iwaizumi sitting upright after processing such misinformation for a few seconds.

Kindaichi glances at him in disbelief, then glances back at Iwaizumi. “Him? Okay? He’s up with God right now, kid.” 

The man in question closes his eyes and nods slowly. Iwaizumi feels like absolute shit as of now, and he probably looks it too. He’d get up and get himself a salty snack to munch on, if he weren’t trying to drown out all of today’s twelve-hours’ worth of events. It takes him a little extra effort than usual while he’s stoned, but if one thing’s certain, it’s that he’s fucking glad he won’t have to deal with that crappy vehicle the company provided him with anymore. He’s kind of dreading job-searching again, though - but that’s sober Hajime’s problem. He feels himself slowly sinking deeper, and he seems to switch from grounding himself to simply not wanting to try, until he’s interrupted momentarily.

He opens his eyes to the sound of Makki shuffling around in his sleep, and Tanaka lets out a sigh of relief. Kenma merely looks over to Iwaizumi and mumbles - 

“You look fucking sick.” 

It’s the first time he’s spoken the whole night, and even his fingers stop toying with his game in concern, to which Kunimi protests. Looking over at him, however, everyone could easily tell Iwaizumi’s getting pale. Suddenly, the distant laughter dies down, Makki’s fully awake, and Kyotani moves to action after assessing the situation.

“Yeah, he’s right...how _much_ did you have, exactly?” Kindaichi calmly calls out with a hint of panic in his tone. Even though he’s right next to Iwaizumi, his voice sounds so far away, and he can’t bring himself to respond quick enough. His stomach’s twisting and his eyes are starting to sting from all the smoke, but that’s the least of his problems.

Kyotani and Saeko are already helping him to the bathroom, both of them being the only two who seem to have enough experience in dealing with such situations. It’s not exactly Iwaizumi’s first time getting high either, but it’s the first time in a long while. They set him down against the bathtub and at this point, Iwaizumi’s feeling worse, trying his best to keep his eyes open.

Crouching down to his level, Saeko reaches behind him to turn the faucet on, then comes back to face him. His face seems to contort in discomfort as she does her best to keep him from panicking. She then looks between Kyotani and Suga, who followed them, and she sighs. 

“Get him out of his clothes, and I’ll get him a fresh change from Ryu’s room.” 

They each do a double take and Kyotani protests. 

“Excuse me? I am _not_ getting him naked, what the fuck!” 

“Congrats on your one way ticket to jail, then! If we somehow get caught, I’m not going to prison. You’re probably used to it, but no thanks.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He bites back, his eyes burning a hole into her head, pretty much. Suga decides that it’s time to interject, and crouches down to let Iwaizumi know what’s going to happen.

“We’re not going to get caught, stop exaggerating,” Suga speaks up, rolling his eyes before continuing, “and this bath is supposed to help him?” He tries to pat Iwaizumi’s face awake. Saeko hums as if to say yes in response. 

Before most of his clothes are discarded, his eyes open up some more and he leans over to the side, clutching his stomach in pain. “Oh for fuck’s sake, is he greening out again?” From what he can see out of the corner of his eye, Kyotani’s already fishing his phone out of his pocket. And for some reason, it starts to click.

Already a little more aware of the thought, Iwaizumi glares up at his friend, shaking his head. 

_He’s_ not even in Japan...right? 

“What do you mean by ‘greening out’?” Saeko inquires from where she’s leaning against the sink, ignoring Iwaizumi’s attempt at a non-verbal threat. She doesn’t miss how he grunts out in frustration as he tries to stand up, but Suga holds him down by his arms gently. 

“He’s pretty nauseated, might send himself into a panic attack, too. It happens when he pushes his limits.” Kyotani then turns to Iwaizumi and Suga, a pang of guilt surging through his body suddenly. Iwaizumi’s gonna fucking hate him for this.

“Look, don’t kill me, but I have to do this. He’s the only one who knows how to deal with you greening out.” 

“How? He’s not gonna magically show up...wasn’t he in Argentina?” Iwaizumi slurs out, lolling his head back to try to stop the room from spinning. 

Even though he knows all too well what he’s about to do, he’s too dizzy to get up and throw his phone out the window like he so desperately wants to. His body’s getting stiffer by the minute, and he can’t do anything but complain in embarrassment. 

If there’s one thing he absolutely hates, it’s being perceived as helpless and not being able to make decisions for himself. Which is why it takes him a while to tell Kyotani and Saeko to get out of the bathroom, and he wants to tell Suga as well, but realizes that he can’t even get up off of the floor on his own. He has the other boy turn away while he takes off the rest of his clothing, because frankly, neither of them need to be even more tense. Once he’s in the bathtub, his head’s pounding and his nausea seems to get worse, but he’s more conscious than he was fifteen minutes ago. Sugawara shows himself out after turning the faucet off, telling him to shout if he needs anything, and Iwaizumi basks in the momentary silence that befalls him. And for a second, he feels calm, and a lot less shitty. For a second, because Kyotani barges in with an announcement, as well as fearful anticipation of his reaction. 

“Um...Tooru’s on his way. He happened to be nearby.” 

_‘There it is,’_ Iwaizumi thinks to himself, _‘just kill me instead.’_

If he squints, Kyotani could probably see smoke coming out of his reddening ears, with his fists balled up by his sides under the water. He proceeds to make the safer decision of showing himself out and quietly shutting the bathroom door.


	2. "i'm sorry for what i've done"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What makes you think that waiting two years to apologize is gonna have me crawling back to you?”
> 
> “What?”

By the time the reason for Iwaizumi’s misery shows up at Tanaka’s front door, he’s already out of the bath and clad in one of Tanaka’s hoodies and sweats, each a size too small for him. 

It’s safe to say that he feels like the embodiment of death, hunched over a bowl of cereal that makes his insides churn. Inwardly, rage and frustration flow through his veins hand in hand, and it has him all the more nauseated. 

From where he’s sitting in the kitchen with Kindaichi, still feeling like absolute crap, he can clearly see Oikawa toe his shoes off in the entryway. Much to Iwaizumi’s surprise, he doesn’t have his usual shit-eating, charming grin on his face. Instead, he looks kind of concerned - and that’s pretty much one of the only differences Iwaizumi took notice of.

“You’re so fucking lucky I agreed to stop by. Where is he?” Oikawa speaks rigidly to Kyotani, and Kindaichi scoffs. They both  _ know  _ that he’s just putting up a front. No matter what, Oikawa wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to see Iwaizumi. 

Saeko leads him to the kitchen table, where Iwaizumi’s heavily considering spitting in his face. Even still, Oikawa chooses to make fun of the current state he’s in. Despite their current relationship, Oikawa ignores Iwaizumi’s resentment and makes jokes like nothing ever happened. Typical. 

“Poor Iwa-chan...haven’t seen you in two years and you manage to look worse. I’d ask you how you’re doing but the eye bags are super telling.” He moves around the kitchen like it’s his own, when in truth, it’s his first time being here. The way he carries himself certainly hasn’t changed since their high school days, and the underlying weakness in his tone remains the same. Vulnerability that only Iwaizumi manages to detect, no matter how far apart they are. 

He absolutely hates it. And he hates that, for some reason, Oikawa’s the only one who’s able to help him whenever he pushes himself over the edge. He doesn’t understand why he couldn’t tell Kyotani what to do over the phone, but if he thinks hard enough about it, his brain would probably implode. 

“Uh, Saeko-san, do you have any fresh lemons?” He asks politely, which is totally unlike him, and it almost makes Iwaizumi laugh in sheer annoyance. He would, if he weren’t doubled over in pain. 

He sits down in front of Iwaizumi after collecting everything he could possibly need and takes a good look at him, scanning him from head to toe. 

“I don’t think he’s too far gone this time, Kyoken.” Oikawa’s casual usage of Kyotani’s and Iwaizumi’s nicknames sends them both spiraling, each in their respective manners. 

“Don’t call me that anymore,” Kyotani retorts, “and it’s probably because he’s seeing you right now.” 

And here comes that shit-eating grin Iwaizumi’s been thinking about. 

“Aww, you already feel better just by looking at me? Good to know I still have that impact on you, babe.” His tone’s sickly sweet, dripping with honey. In truth, that definitely would’ve made eighteen year old Iwaizumi flustered, but as of now, he wants nothing more than to punch him in the face. 

He whips his head up a little too fast and has to close his eyes for a moment. Oikawa’s expression is back to being blank and emotionless, shifting between that and slightly worrisome, and he grabs Iwaizumi’s hand to place a few peppercorns in his palm. 

His eye catches the small, familiar ink marking on the inside of his wrist, but says nothing of it. Iwaizumi takes notice, pulling his arm back as quickly as possible. 

“Munch on these,” Oikawa instructs, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. 

“You know I fucking hate peppercorns,” Iwaizumi whines in protest, and it’s pretty much the first time in two years he’s let his voice get  _ that _ high-pitched. “Kindaichi, not a  _ word _ ,” he mutters in realization before his friend could make any smart comments. 

At this point, Saeko and Tanaka have gone back to check on the rest. It’s just the four of them now, and Iwaizumi winces at how much has changed in two years. The air feels heavy and cold, even for Kindaichi and Kyotani who managed to sober up. 

It doesn’t seem to affect Oikawa, though. He’s as stoic as ever, not letting Kyotani’s deadpans affect him in any way, but instead chuckles at Iwaizumi’s previous complaint. 

“And you know I don’t give a shit. Now eat those if you wanna feel better, and drink some water.” 

It’s like talking down to a stubborn child, just how it’s always been with the both of them, and Iwaizumi wants to kick himself in the gut for obliging. He hates how peppercorns taste, how they crunch, but they sure do bring him back to his senses. For some fucked up reason, he can’t find it in him to say no, or fight, or yell. Maybe it’s because he feels braindead and just wants to feel better? Or maybe it’s because…

Yeah, no. 

He would much rather march into death’s open arms and be in its clutches right about now. So why isn’t he letting it happen? 

When he gulps down his water, Oikawa’s already standing up and signalling him to come along. 

“What now?” Iwaizumi complains yet again, and it takes him a moment to figure out why Oikawa’s standing there and saying nothing. He knows  _ exactly  _ what he’s thinking. When Iwaizumi realizes, he furiously shakes his head - again, too furious for his headache’s liking. 

“Oh, no  _ way _ , you fuck. That might’ve worked in the past, but it won’t work now.” 

It’s not that he’s afraid of Oikawa pulling a move, or attempting to be slick, he simply doesn’t want to be alone with him. He knows that the second they walk out that door, unwanted memories will come flooding in. And yet… 

Oikawa sighs and rolls his eyes, clarifying, “relax. It’s not like I’m gonna blow you on the side of the fucking road, we’re just gonna go on a walk like we always did, remember? No tricks, nothing new here.” 

Iwaizumi's aware of that, but still. 

It’s the first time he detects a hint of sincerity in his tone. Something in Iwaizumi is compelled to find out why  _ exactly _ Oikawa, of all people, showed up to help him. Why he couldn’t tell Kyotani what to do instead of making time and dropping plans to come here, despite their history. 

Because, to be frank, it’s not that hard to be hand-fed peppercorn and go on a walk to regain a sense of reality - pretty much anyone can do that. 

Iwaizumi proceeds to surprise his roommates when he gets up on his own and meets Oikawa by the door. They both shoot him a ‘are you fucking serious?’ type of look, but he brushes it off. 

“Don’t worry, boys. I’ll bring him back in ten minutes,” Oikawa announces while putting his shoes back on, then turns back to them once more with a smile, “It was nice seeing you both again. Say hi to Mattsun and Makki for me, hm?” 

When they step out, Iwaizumi’s vision is still a little hazy, with tears pricking at the corner of his eyes from being too tired. He has no idea what time it is, or what time he showed up at Tanaka’s place to begin with. He doesn’t even want to  _ look  _ at Oikawa, who’s walking beside him with his hand hovering over Iwaizumi’s back, just in case. And it bugs the crap out of him. 

“Touch me, and you’re dead,” Iwaizumi warns with his pace quickening a little, trying to get away from him as much as possible. But to no avail, because he only ends up needing to stop in his tracks and shut his eyes briefly to stop everything from spinning. Oikawa catches up to him and hands him a water bottle, and Iwaizumi seems a little confused as to when he picked it up on their way out. 

“Ah,  _ now _ you’re opposed to me touching you. So much can change in two years,” he chuckles in response, and it’s nothing but surprising to Iwaizumi that he’s taking this strange, unexpected and certainly unwelcome meeting lightly. 

“How’s your headache?” Oikawa asks him calmly afterwards, a hint of concern laced in his tone. 

“Horrible. Now shut up so it doesn’t get worse.” 

It’s freezing for some reason, and Iwaizumi figures out that it’s probably past 12AM. Oikawa, who’s quite a few steps behind him this time, kicks a pebble as he walks, and laughs quietly to himself in wonder. The other boy’s confused until he speaks up. 

“Aren’t you gonna ask me why I showed up?” 

Iwaizumi stops yet again. He feels himself inching closer to reality as he wakes up a little, turning to look at Oikawa. It’s the first time that he’s had a good look at him that night, without exhausted tears burning at his eyes and blurring his sight. He seems to have gotten more...lean. His confidence never falters as he carries himself, a grin playing on the corners of his lips. At first glance, it seems to be a little devilish, but Iwaizumi knows that a lot more hides underneath the surface of it. The dark haired boy scans his figure, and even in the pale moonlight and a single flickering lamp post, it’s clear that Oikawa’s time away from him left room for some adjustments. A tattoo peeked past the collar of his shirt up to his neck, with smaller ones littering the back of his left hand, from what Iwaizumi could tell. 

He absolutely hates it. 

Oikawa patiently waits for a response, not saying anything to rush him, but that within itself only stresses Iwaizumi out. It takes him a minute to formulate a proper sentence, and when he does- 

“Yeah, um, I’m pretty surprised, honestly.” 

-it comes out a lot softer than he initially intended. He clears his throat, reminding himself of the tone he  _ wanted  _ to go with, and continues, “I don’t mean it in a good way, though. Genuinely wondering why you suddenly chose to give a fuck and show up. Especially when I’m like this, does it feed into your savior complex or something?” 

To Oikawa, it’s not surprising that he responds with such bitterness, a frown draping over his face in a poor attempt to hide his once soft, saddened eyes. In truth, he doesn’t take it too much to heart. 

“I understand why you’re upset about this, Iwa-chan. Give me a chance to explain?” Oikawa raises his hands up in defense. It seems to get through, cracking the walls Iwaizumi’s built around himself ever so slightly. 

He sighs, not meeting his gaze. “Two minutes, but don’t think I’m buying any of your bullshit.”

“Well, it’s worth a shot.”

Awkwardly, Oikawa gestures to the bench nearby, lit up only by a single street lamp. Even when he’s sitting as far away as possible, Iwaizumi can clearly make out the rose tattoo on the back of his hand, along with his jersey number in fine print. Knowing him, he probably got something tattooed in Spanish while endeavoring in Argentina. 

Tufts of chestnut waves peek from underneath his beanie, a little lighter than how his hair used to be in high school. Despite the hair change, and the tattoos, Iwaizumi doubts that his ex’s personality had changed for the better. He’s a firm believer in the fact that whatever happens, you can never change a person entirely - and he usually isn’t quick to judge, but knowing Oikawa, he likely lets the spotlight consume him, even more so after high school. 

“So, uh,” Oikawa begins nervously, his tone not at all matching the intimidating front he attempted to put on when he first came over. “I know that you...might hate me. And honestly, you have every right to. I didn’t realize how badly I’d fucked up until after I left Japan, which was probably too late. I’m sorry...basically.” 

Iwaizumi blinks slowly, already bored. Oikawa tugs his bottom lip in between his teeth and fumbles with his fingers in anticipation, as if he’s expecting him to get up and go back inside, or yell at him. Contrarily, the older boy breathes out a chuckle in disbelief and looks at his worn out shoes. Not the reaction Oikawa expected, but likely to be worse. When he speaks, Iwaizumi’s voice twists with a tinge of sarcasm and a resemblance of pain, ever so slightly. 

“What makes you think that waiting two years to apologize is gonna have me crawling back to you?”

“What?” 

At this point, both of them are equally confused. Oikawa sits upright, opposed to Iwaizumi who’s hunched over, resting his elbows on his thighs. “See, if you only came here to ‘apologize’ and expect me to accept it, then I suggest you leave,” Iwaizumi clarifies with an edge to his words. 

It’s not like Oikawa expects him to ignore the past and act like nothing happened. Although, something inside of him merely hopes that his sincerity is clear, and the rest is up to fate to decide. Truth be told, Iwaizumi never expected him to notice the weight of the situation - the weight of the words he had to endure listening to for a hefty three years or so. 

Sighing, Oikawa turns to the side, mostly facing the other boy. He notices him tense up a little bit and he doesn’t know where to rest his gaze. What Oikawa says next is the result of built up enthusiasm and hope.    
  
“You don’t have to accept my apology, but listen. I believe that, even though shit went down between us, we met up again for a reason. Maybe to rekindle that flame that went out, you know.” 

And when Iwaizumi stares, maybe still a tiny bit too stoned to comprehend his blabbering, Oikawa’s confidence starts to crumble. The other boy lets out a laugh, the most genuine laugh Oikawa’s had the pleasure of hearing in what seemed to be longer than two years. Iwaizumi thinks it’s nothing short of absolutely  _ ridiculous _ , but he notices Oikawa blink slowly, pursing his lips in a tight line. 

Iwaizumi straightens up and his tired eyes grow wide. “Wait, you’re being  _ serious? _ Tooru, that’s a whole new low - even for you,” he starts, adamant on letting him know that he’s being stupid, as per usual. “You’re on vacation. You came home to visit your family, and I’m almost certain that Mattsun knows about your schedule. I know you guys keep in touch. This isn’t ‘fate’ or whatever the fuck you think it is. Make sure you get that through your thick skull, alright?” 

His words sting worse the more he speaks, but that’s okay. Oikawa won’t listen otherwise - he knows that all too well. Almost immediately, he gets up to go back to Tanaka’s. It’s a short walk form where the bench is situated, but obviously, it takes twice as long when Oikawa follows suit and grabs him by the hand. 

In a dramatic turn of events, Iwaizumi scans Oikawa’s face properly, taking in all the little features he didn’t want to look at prior. The inkings crawling up his neck are a bit clearer now that they’re fully facing each other, his eyes hold a shred of...regret? He doesn’t know, and he doesn’t feel like figuring out. He snaps back to reality and shakes his head. 

“Don’t do that,” he complains. Oikawa lets his hand go, albeit reluctantly. 

“I’m being  _ serious.  _ I know I could’ve told Kyotani what to do over the phone, and I know it’s fucking stupid to show up and not do much. But I really thought it was best to come see you, even if you didn’t wanna see me.” 

Without having to say it, they both knew that Oikawa’s ‘tough guy’ act at the front door was all a show in order to keep his cool, or attempt to, at least. He shoves his hands into his pockets and waits for a response. Hell, even if Iwaizumi ultimately decides to spit in his face - at least it’s  _ something.  _

Iwaizumi, however, isn’t buying it. Oikawa’s whole perception of him can definitely be considered a misjudgment now, because only his sixteen-year-old self would fall for such a gimmick all too easily, and let himself be a pushover. 

“Alright, Tooru. I don’t know what angle you’re trying to play at, but if you’re trying to get back to being together, it’s not gonna happen, especially because I know you’re probably seeing someone right now. You probably don’t respect that, but I do. And if you’re just trying to be - I don’t know - friends, it won’t work either. We aren’t sixteen anymore.” 

_ We aren’t sixteen anymore.  _

Oikawa knows that. He doesn’t exactly know what he means by it, but he knows that they’ve both matured and grown into better people. So surely, it should be easy for them to move past this.

Right? 

Before he could gather his thoughts and formulate a proper response, a response that tackled each and every point made so  _ perfectly _ , they turn their heads to a voice calling out to them nearby. 

“We’re going home!” Kindaichi calls out to Iwaizumi. He’s never believed in a higher being before, but he does now for getting him out of this situation. Oikawa takes this as his cue to leave, letting his shoulders sag ever so slightly as Iwaizumi looks at him. He doesn’t let him leave without a final thought, though. 

“Just...think about it. Even if you don’t believe in fate for now.” 

Iwaizumi shakes his head and nearly flicks his forehead on impulse. He doesn’t, but he wishes he did. 

“You left for Argentina and came back with the same-old cliché bullshit, I see.” 

Oikawa doesn’t know whether to laugh or not, so he smiles slightly, and properly bids his goodbye to all three roommates before he’s out of their sight. In the quiet darkness, Iwaizumi hears a quick flick of a lighter, and sees Oikawa stop in his tracks to light a cigarette that could very likely get him into serious trouble if he gets caught. Iwaizumi doesn’t really  _ feel _ like reminding him of the laws, and it might be all too hypocritical coming from him at the moment. 

By the time he’s gone, and they say their goodbyes to their friends, Iwaizumi’s watch reads 3:33AM, and his world is at peace again. 

Whatever peace meant in his book, and that is any situation clear of any ‘Oikawa Tooru’s in sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY chapter 2 is doneeee :] i apologize for the gap between updates, been trying to find some inspiration lol  
> anyways, hope you enjoyed whatever slightly-angsty mess this is !


End file.
